DSc. E.W. Cliver from the National Solar Observatory, Boulder, CO, will recount the life and career of Richard Christopher Carrington (1826 – 1875) and explore his pivotal relationship with Astronomer Royal George Biddell Airy. Carrington was the pre-eminent solar astronomer of the mid-19th century. During a ten year span, he determined the position of the Sun’s rotation axis and made the following discoveries: (i) the latitude variation of sunspots over the solar cycle, (ii) the Sun’s differential rotation and, most memorably, (iii) the first solar flare (with Hodgson) that was associated with arguably the largest space weather event yet recorded. Due to the combined effects of family responsibilities, failure to secure a funded position in astronomy (reflecting Airy’s influence), and ill health, Carrington’s productive period ended when he was at the peak of his powers.
DSc. E.W. Cliver
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Presentation Details:
Talk Title: Richard Carrington and the 1859 Space Weather Event
Biography
DSc. E.W. Cliver is a Wisconsin native who attended state colleges at River Falls and Oshkosh, with a BS from the University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh in 1970, an MS from the Astro-Geophysics Department of the University of Colorado in 1973, and a DSc from the Solar-Terrestrial Environment Laboratory at Nagoya University in 2000. My professional career was entirely with the US Air Force, working in the space weather area first on active duty and subsequently as a civilian at what is today the consolidated Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). I retired from AFRL while at Sacramento Peak Observatory in New Mexico in 2014 and became affiliated with the National Solar Observatory in Boulder, CO, moving to Raleigh, NC near the grandkids in 2020. My research interests include space weather, long-term solar variability, and extreme events, with the history of the field as a persistent avocation.
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